1. Govt Reaches out to Congress to End Parliament Logjam
The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday extended an olive branch to the Congress, with finance minister Arun Jaitley praising former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “commitment to the nation” on the floor of the House.
The statement, made in the Rajya Sabha, was an attempt to facilitate the smooth functioning of Parliament’s winter session, which has been disrupted repeatedly over comments made by Prime Minister Modi ahead of the Gujarat elections earlier this month.
Though the Opposition did not get the apology from Modi they had demanded, the Cabinet’s most prominent minister said:
“The PM in his speeches didn’t question, nor did he mean to question, the commitment to this nation of either former PM Manmohan Singh or former VP Hamid Ansari. Any such perception is erroneous. We hold these leaders in high esteem, as well as their commitment to India.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Jairam Thakur's Innings Begin in Hill State
The five-time Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jairam Thakur was on Wednesday sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Governor Acharya Dev Vrat administered the oath of office to the chief minister and 11 other Ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, and a large number of senior party leaders and Union Cabinet Ministers including LK Advani, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Chief Ministers of many BJP-ruled States were also present.
A large number of people had started gathering since morning from Mandi, the home district of Thakur on the historic Ridge ground. Supporters of the new Ministers had also thronged the venue in large numbers.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. 2008 Malegaon blast case: Pragya, Purohit to Face Trial Under Anti-Terror Law
A special court Wednesday dropped charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 12 accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Thakur, Purohit and five other accused will, however, face trial under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and for murder and criminal conspiracy. While three of the 12 were discharged from the case, two other accused will face trial under the Arms Act only.
With MCOCA being dropped, the prosecution may find it difficult to use the confessional statements of the accused as evidence against them or their co-accused. While the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which investigated the case before it was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011, had named 14 accused including Thakur, in its supplementary chargesheet filed in May 2016, the NIA had dropped Thakur’s name.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. We Respect Constitution: Government
Agitated over the controversial remarks of Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Anantkumar Hegde, the Opposition on Wednesday forced repeated adjournments in both Houses of Parliament, demanding his resignation. The government was quick to distance itself from the issue.
In the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Modi government had utmost respect for Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution, and said Mr Hegde’s comments had been distorted by Opposition leaders.
Clarifying the government’s stand, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said in the Rajya Sabha that it was committed to the Constitution and that the government did not subscribe to the Minister’s views.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Yogi Govt Issues Order to Scrap Case Against Yogi Adityanath
A day before the Uttar Pradesh Criminal Law (Composition of Offences and Abatement of Trials) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was tabled in the state assembly on 21 December — the Bill proposing abatement of certain proceedings pending before magistrates until 31 December 2015 was passed the next day — the Yogi Adityanath government ordered withdrawal of a 1995 case in which he, Shiv Pratap Shukla (now Minister of State for Finance at the Centre), Sheetal Pandey (BJP MLA from Sahajanwa) and ten others were booked for violating prohibitory orders.
The case, lodged at Pipiganj police station in Gorakhpur district, was pending in a local court which had earlier directed that non-bailable warrants (NBWs) be issued against the accused for non-appearance before it. Prosecution Officer, Gorakhpur, BD Mishra, said: “The court had ordered NBWs against all named but the warrants were not issued then.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Government Statement on Jadhav Issue Today
The government will make a statement in the Lok Sabha on Thursday on the treatment meted out by Pakistan to the family members of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Delhi.
During zero hour, members of various political parties, including the Congress, the Shiv Sena, the Trinamool Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam strongly protested against the way Jadhav’s family members were treated by Pakistani authorities when they had gone there to meet him in prison.
Swaraj, who was present in the House, said a statement on the issue would be made on Thursday.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Government to Present Triple Talaq Bill in Lok Sabha Today
The government plans to introduce the bill to criminalise triple talaq or instant divorce among Muslims in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid several opposition parties, including Congress, Left and BJD, and various Muslim organisations expressing reservations over the proposed jail term for violators.
The government is determined to press ahead with the bill in the Lok Sabha, where it has a strong majority, even though some opposition parties have demanded that the proposed law be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee in view of the objections raised by several quarters over criminalisation of triple talaq .
(Source: Times of India)
8. Rajasthan Doctors Call off 12-Day Strike
The resident doctors in Rajasthan, on Wednesday, ended their strike after nearly eight-hour talks with the state government was successful. The doctors will reportedly join their duty from Thursday.
The in-service government doctors went on an indefinite strike on 16 December against the arrest of some of their fellow doctors under the Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA). As many as 86 doctors were arrested in the state after they demanded better work conditions and salary benefits. The government invoked RESMA after the doctors threatened that they would go on strike.
The meeting between a delegation of doctors led by Ajay Chaudhary, president of All-Rajasthan In-service Doctors Association (ARISDA), and state Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf and others had taken place earlier in the day.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Minimum Attendance Must for JNU Students
For the first time, the Jawaharlal Nehru University made minimum attendance mandatory for its students from the coming winter session. A circular issued by the university administration said that the decision was taken at the recently held 144th academic council (AC) meeting. Several students and teachers, however, opposed the decision calling it arbitrary, claiming that the issue never came up during the meeting.
The circular, notified to the deans and chairperson of the schools and centres of the university, asked them "to maintain an attendance record of all students", including that of MPhil and PhD. It also mentioned that a "detailed guideline will be circulated" after receiving recommendations of a committee.
Speaking to TOI, assistant registrar Sajjan Singh said the "committee will soon come out with the guidelines on attendance".
(Source: Times of India)